UnionWest Virginia

2nd West Virginia Infantry

Union · Formed 1861-09-01 · Mustered out 1864-10-16
Raised From
Western Virginia
Formed
1861-09-01
Mustered Out
1864-10-16

Service Summary

The 2nd West Virginia Infantry was a Union regiment raised in West Virginia during the American Civil War. The regiment was recruited from Western Virginia. The regiment was formed on September 1, 1861. It was mustered out on October 16, 1864.

Key Engagements

Battles and campaigns in which the 2nd West Virginia Infantry served. Linked entries open the engagement's full record.

Distinctive Record

Recruited from the Unionist counties of western Virginia that would become West Virginia in 1863. Fought primarily in the western Virginia mountains, helping suppress Confederate guerrilla activity.

Civil War context

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in American history, killing an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians. The Confederate States of America, formed by eleven seceding Southern states, faced the Union in four years of warfare across 23 states and territories. Major engagements included First and Second Bull Run, Antietam (the bloodiest single day in American history, September 17, 1862), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863), and Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864–1865). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, transforming the war's stated purpose to include the abolition of slavery and enabling the enlistment of approximately 180,000 Black men in the United States Colored Troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The war resolved the question of secession and ended American slavery, though Reconstruction would face sustained resistance in its attempt to secure civil rights for formerly enslaved people.

Source

Regimental data from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service (public domain). Reference: National Park Service.

Questions about this regiment

What was the 2nd West Virginia Infantry?
The 2nd West Virginia Infantry was a Union regiment raised in West Virginia during the American Civil War. It was formed on September 1, 1861.
Where was the 2nd West Virginia Infantry raised?
The regiment was raised in Western Virginia.
What battles did the 2nd West Virginia Infantry fight in?
The 2nd West Virginia Infantry saw action at Rich Mountain (1861), Carnifex Ferry (1861), Antietam (1862), Droop Mountain (1863).
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